''Pterygotrigla polyommata'', the latchet, butterfly gurnard, flying gurnard, lachet gurnard, pastry, sharpbeak gurnard, spiny gurnard or spinybeak gurnard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It is found in the southeastern Indian and southwestern Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Pterygotrigla polyommata'' was first formally described as ''Trigla polyommata'' in 1839 by the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naval surgeon,

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

and naturalist John Richardson with the type locality given as

Port Arthur, Tasmania Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately southeast of the state capital, Hobart. The site forms part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage p ...

. In 1867 Alphonse Guichenot created the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Hoplonotus'' with its only species beingRichardson's ''T. polyommata'', however, this genus name was preoccupied by a genus of beetles and in 1899 Edgar Ravenswood Waite proposed the new name ''

Pterygotrigla ''Pterygotrigla'' is a genus of genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins, one of two genera belonging to the subfamily Pterygotriglinae. These gurnards are found in the Indian and Pacific ...

'' to replace it. This species is, therefore the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus and of the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of the same name. The specific name ''polyommata'' is a combination of ''poly'', which means "many", and ''ommata'', meaning "eyed", an allusion to the two large, adjoining, black spots with thin white edges, like eyes, on the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

Description

''Pterygotrigla polyommata'' has a moderately deep and long body, tapering towards the caudal peduncle. It has a modreately large oblong, bony head, with a deeply depression between the eyes. There are long spines on the operculum, over the base of the

s and on the bony protuberance on either side of the origin of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

. There are two long, forward directed spines on the snout. The scales are very small and cycloid and cover all of the body apart from the nape and the forward part of the belly. The dorsal fin is separated into two fins, the first has 7 or 8 spines and is tall and has a curved profile, while the second has 12 soft rays and is elongate, slightly shorter with a straighter profile. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is similar to the second dorsal and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is forked. The large pectoral fins extend beyond the tips of the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s and have their lowest 3 rays thickened and separate from the fin membrane. The colour reddish changing to silvery below, with red to brownish blotches below both the dorsal fins. The pectoral fins are a purplish colour speckled with white on their outer surface, with the inner surface being blue to purple crossed by wide bands of olive to bright yellow bands or lines of spots. There are two large white margined black spots at their bases. The dorsal and caudal fins are red, the anal fin is white and the pelvic fins are pinkish. This species has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Pterygotrigla polyommata'' is found in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean off southern Australia and New Zealand. In Australia it is found from

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

east along the south coast, including

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In New Zealand it is rare in northern New Zealand. The latchet is found in sandy or muddy habitats, it is known to enter shallow estuaries in southern Tasmania.

Fisheries

''Pterygotrigla polyommata'' is frequently caught by trawlers and the catch is sold in fish markets, however, the flesh is not as highly regarded as that of the red gurnard (''

Chelidonichthys kumu The bluefin gurnard or Pacific red gurnard (''Chelidonichthys kumu'') is a species of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. Its Māori names are Kumukumu and Pūwahaiau. It is found in the wester ...

'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2473560 polyommata Taxa named by John Richardson (naturalist) Fish described in 1839